Peaceful Trend? Kids See Less Violence Today

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The amount of violence and crime that children see in real life,
including bullying and sexual victimization, dropped between 2003
and 2011, according to a new study.

In the study of 2- to 17-year-olds, the researchers examined 50
types of
violence that kids might witness or experience themselves,
and found that between 2003 and 2011 there were significant
declines in kids' exposure to 27 types of violence, and no
significant increases.

The study also found that there were decreases, and no increases,
in kids' exposure to violence between 2008, the year when the
economic recession started, and 2011. Some of the reasons behind
the decreases might be the
increasing use of psychiatric medication, and the widespread
use of technology, which can reduce the risk of violent physical
interaction between people, the researchers said.

"Typically, when economic times are bad," the stress of many
people losing their jobs and homes can lead to conflict and more
victimization, said study author David Finkelhor at the
University of New Hampshire, Durham. He was surprised to see that
the economic crisis did not seem to have that negative an effect
on violence rates, he added. [ Fight,
Fight, Fight: 10 Weapons in the History of Human Aggression ]

In the study, the researchers examined data from three national
telephone surveys on kids' exposure to violence, and found
declines in kids witnessing or experiencing assaults that
involved weapons or injuries, as well as assaults committed by
peers and siblings. The study also found decreases in kids seeing
acts of
bullying and sexual victimization.

Boredom is a common trigger for violent behavior, but today's
society has brought engaging technologies to many people.
" Technology
can be very engrossing, and boredom has declined," Finkelhor
said.

Moreover, because of technology, people now spend more time at
home and have less face-to-face communication with others, which
lowers the risk of physical assault.

Other technology-related factors explaining why exposure to
violence in kids has dropped might be the wide availability of
cell phones, which make it easier for potential victims of
violence to call for help, and the increased use of surveillance
equipment. "People know they are being recorded," Finkelhor said.

The findings seem to support other statistics that show that
rates of violent crime have decreased in the United States since
the 1990s.

Other researchers stressed the fact that the data used in the
study did not find an increase in children's exposure to violence
during the economic crisis. "The data shared by Finkelhor et al.
refute the notion that crime and victimization data necessarily
rise in economic hard times," wrote John R. Lutzker, a researcher
at Georgia State University, in an editorial published with the
new findings.

Incidents that are reported by the media may lead people to think
that violence is on the rise, and they overestimate how prevalent
it really is, Lutzker wrote. "All too often, incidents of mass
violence — such as shootings at schools, theaters or malls —
dominate the news (which is understandable) and raise fears among
the public," Lutzker wrote.

It is therefore important for both the media and the public to
"be informed of the good news about these trends," he wrote.